


sunsets and cheap spirits

by ninash



Series: traveled the universe twice [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire (Teen Wolf), Bittersweet, Childhood Memories, Confident Stiles Stilinski, FBI Agent Stiles Stilinski, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Future Fic, Lot of smiling, M/M, Mentioned Claudia Stilinski - Freeform, Nostalgia, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Short & Sweet, Stiles Stilinski Has Scars, Stiles Stilinski Knows About Werewolves, Stiles comes home, The Hale Family (Teen Wolf) Lives, fireman derek, soft, stiles is only two years younger than derek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-27 17:14:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17770940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninash/pseuds/ninash
Summary: Stiles comes home.





	sunsets and cheap spirits

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by castle on the hill by ed sheeran and a ‘welcome home’ playlist I was listening to. Also, this ended up a lot longer than I had planned on it being which I guess is a good thing?

The familiar ‘Welcome to Beacon Hills’ sign is what greats Stiles when he opens his eyes. He has to blink rapidly against the dryness that holds his eyes but the sign stares him down as his dad's truck rolls past it. Stiles inhales deeply as he sits up, his dad glances over at him with a small smile. Just a quirk of his lips, as Stiles stretches and his bones crack. 

“How does it feel to be home?” His dad asks as they drive past the strip in the middle of the town that has a bunch of storefronts.

“Good.” Stiles' face is glued to the glass as he watches the buildings pass. 

“Really good.” Stiles whispers and sits up in the seat. 

The first person he goes to visit is his mom. John offered to drop him off at the cemetery before heading to the firehouse (“I am retired Stiles” “Yeah, sure sounds like it”) but Stiles had waved him off. John left him alone in the house he grew up in and Stiles' eyes get a little misty at the wave of nostalgia that passes through him. He drags his suitcase up the stairs, fumbling with the duffle slung over his shoulder, but gets both pieces of luggage to his room. His room looks a little different than from what he remembers. It’s a lot cleaner and things have been moved around since he had lived here. He’s grateful to his dad for having cleaned it, aired out the room, and washed all his bedding before Stiles had come home. He leaves his bags in his room and changes out of his gross airplane clothes, pulling on loose shorts and a tee shirt. He digs his old running sneakers out of his closet before he’s pulling his bike out of the garage. They’d sold Roscoe before Stiles had left, a tearful experience for both father and son. 

The weather in Beacon is just bordering on too hot at the beginning of June. The breeze he creates on the bike chills the sweat clinging to his skin. When he gets to the cemetery he rides across the grass and weaves in between graves, wiping his forehead against the sleeve of his shirt and letting out an exhale. His mom’s grave is covered in grass clipping and there's a small knick in her headstone that wasn’t there before. His bike sits on its side, tire spinning, as Stiles plops down in the grass. He rests his back against the headstone and looks up at the oak tree that grows just next to a cluster of family plots. The leaves shiver when a small breeze blows through and Stiles lets out a shaky breath. 

He talks to his mom for hours. Making up for the five years he’d been away. Telling her about how hard it was the first couple months he was in Washington DC. About how bad he wanted to come home and never leave again. He laughs and cries and then just sits there. Sometimes, if he thinks about it really hard, he can remember how she smelled and her laugh. He’s long forgotten the shade of her hair or how tall she was. What kind of clothes she used to wear or what her voice sounded like. But her laugh and smell are the two that never left him. 

His next stop is Scott’s or rather, Scott and Allison's. They’d married a year after high school and Stiles was neck deep in the FBI program and couldn’t fly back. He had, however, hid in the bathroom on his lunch break and watched his two best friends exchange vows through his phone. His dad having facetimed him so that he was still there. They had bought a small rancher a street over from Scott’s childhood home. The house was beautiful, with a small flower bed lining the front of the house.

When he knocks on the door Allison is the one to answer, her hand resting on a small bump rounding her stomach. 

“Stiles! Your back!” She shouts and bounces on her toes, clapping her hands together. 

“You're pregnant!” Stiles laughs incredulously. Allison lets out a snort and her hand falls back to the bump. 

“Yeah Scott was supposed to tell you last week but things have been so hectic and then your dad mentioned you might be coming home for the summer so.” Allison shrugs her shoulder and drags him into the house. Crushing him to her in a tight grip. Stiles angles his hips away from her to avoid pressing into her stomach. 

“Stiles!” Scott plows him over, the two landing on the floor with Scott locking his arms around Stiles. 

“Hey, buddy missed you too.” Stiles laughs and pats Scott’s head with one hand that other rubs his back. 

“You need to come home more often.” Scott's words are muffled from where his face his buried in Stiles' shoulder, if he didn’t know any better he’d say Scott was a werewolf.

“Okay, come on buddy, can’t breath.” Stiles chokes on a laugh when Scott gasps and rears back. He plops back on his butt in the v of Stiles' legs and lets out a laugh of his own. 

“Sorry, sorry.” Scott stands and then pulls Stiles up with ease. 

Stiles might revisit that earlier thought on Scott being a wolf. 

Allison makes them all sandwiches as they sit around the kitchen and catch up on missed time. Stiles tells them about Washington and how many times he thinks his classmates have come close to murdering him. Scott tells him about UC Davis and taking over Deaton’s clinic. Allison became a history teacher at BHH and Stiles cries tears of joy when she tells him Harris retired to Miami. Stiles asks about the baby and Scott immediately cuts in, asking Stiles to be the godfather. Stiles is a little taken back, obviously, he and Scott had joked about it when they were kids, being each other's best men and godfathers for each other's kids but it’s so surreal. 

Allison asks about Lydia, who’d moved to DC two years ago. She and he would go for coffee when they both could spare a moment which wasn’t often. But he told Allison as much as he could, she’s good, her company is good, she has a cute little girlfriend who Stiles thinks is made out of sprinkles and rainbows. Scott tells him that Jackson and Isaac somehow found each other in France. They had a weird bro-ship going on and Allison has a knowing look on her face that makes Stiles choke on his water. 

Everyone else from their small clique still lived in Beacon Hills. Cora still lives at home while she slowly works her way through her degree, taking time off between years to travel the world. Her recent adventure having been Brazil and Scott retrieves a bronze dagger from the living room that she had gifted them. They don’t have much to say about Boyd and Erica. The two had married shortly after Allison and Scott and lived near the Hale house. 

“Have you spoken with Danny recently?” Allison asks, rubbing at her stomach. 

“Yeah! Yeah, he’s good. Wouldn’t shut up about his new beau that is apparently hotter than the sun, his words not mine. He does consultant work for companies that require discreteness when it comes to the digital world, or as I call it, paid to hack. His boo, get this, is a doctor who just got done doing a stitch with doctors without borders. I swear Danny has all the luck, doesn’t leave anything for us mere peasants.” Stiles sighs mournfully and shakes his head. He tosses a cherry tomato up and leans a little to the left to catch it in his mouth. 

“You said Cora just got back from Brazil?” Stiles asks after a moment of silence. Glancing from Scott to Allison and back at his brother. 

“Yeah! Two weeks ago.” Scott nods his head rapidly looking like a hyper puppy. 

Stiles really did miss home. 

By the time he gets home the sun has set well into the horizon line and the jet lag is setting in. He eats pizza with his dad in the living room and falls asleep ten minutes into a baseball game. When he wakes up the next morning the mess from last night is cleaned up and there’s somebody pounding on the front door. Stiles waits for another insistent knock to come before he confirms his dad isn’t home and he slides off the couch. 

“I had to hear from Derek! Stiles! From my brother, that you were home!” Cora growls and shoves her way in once Stiles opens the door. 

“Good morning to you too beautiful.” Stiles snorts and closes the door. 

“Stiles!” Cora does a weird cross between a growl and a hiss and Stiles has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. 

“I hate you. If you fell into a ditch I would leave you there to die.” Cora huffs and crosses her arms over her chest, angling her body away from him. 

“Aww come on Cora don’t be like that.” Stiles whines and trudges over to her. 

He wraps his arms around her shoulders and rests his head on her shoulder. His nose brushes her throat and Stiles can feel her relax into him. Knowing that she’s a werewolf just makes so much sense to Stiles. Thinking about how tactile she’d been within their group, she was scent marking them. Having created her own little pack within the walls of their high school. He feels stupid for not having figured it out on his own before going to DC. Cora grumbles under her breath before turning into Stiles. Her hands fist in the back of his tee and she buries her face in his shoulder just like Scott had yesterday.

“I missed you.” She breathes through clenched teeth. 

“I know, I’m sorry. I missed you too.” Stiles rubs her back and his other hand strokes her hair. An image of Derek flashes in his mind and he pushes it away. 

“Did you get taller?” Cora squints at him as she pulls away. Her hands sliding slowly over his shoulders before dropping. 

“No.” Stiles laughs and flexes the muscles in his arms and pulls a macho face. 

“You gotta come over for dinner. Mom was over the moon when she found out you were home.” Cora punches his arm and smiles at him. 

Stiles snorts at the pun Cora had unknowingly made. He tries to cover it with a cough and Cora just gives him a look. 

“Dinner sounds perfect, I’m pretty much free all summer so whatever works for you guys.” Stiles bobs his head. Cora’s eyes widen and her hand grips at his elbow, giddiness shining in her eyes. 

“Tonight?” She asks as she pulls her phone out of her pocket and types something before tucking it back into her shorts. 

“Yeah, tonight works.” Stiles smiles when she just stares at him. Her eyes soften a little and a smile of her own spreads. 

“It’s good to see you Stilinski.” She starts to backtrack to the door, not looking as she weaves around the frame of the living room. 

“You too Hale.” Stiles raises a brow at her. Friggin werewolves man, so not subtle. 

Stiles spends the rest of the day unpacking and lazing around the house. He gets through the whole first season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, that his dad judges him for before he gets ready for dinner. 

_“You're an FBI agent Stiles.” John shakes his head from where he’s standing at the back of the couch._

_“Yes and your point is?” Stiles tapped his fingers against the remote that sat on his chest. His dad snorts and walks away._

Stiles stands in the entrance of the kitchen looking at his dad. John looks up from his turkey burger and raises his brow at his son. Stiles has on a tight pair of light wash jeans with rips in the knees and a fitted white tee. His beat up chuck taylors the only thing remnant of the high school boy he left behind. 

“Hot date?” John asks and takes another bite of his burger, a piece of lettuce hanging from his mouth. 

“Dinner at the Hales.” Stiles corrects as he shoves his wallet and phone into his back pocket. 

John hums and slides the keys to the truck over the top of the table. Stiles slaps his hand down on them before they slide right off the edge. Looking at his dad with wide eyes and a small smirk. 

“Just be careful with her on that back road. I just had the tires replaced.” John says his peace as he goes back to looking at the magazine in front of him. 

Stiles thanks his dad and leaves through the front door. He keeps the radio down low as he drives to the Hales. Windows down and arm hanging out, wind curls between his fingers as he bobs his wrist in wave-like motions, humming the song that's playing under his breath. He drives slow down the back road that eventually turns into the Hale driveway just like his dad had asked. Dirt eventually turns into small grey stones and he parks the truck neck to Laura’s camaro. Cora is already sitting on the porch waiting for him when he hops out of the truck and she gives him a tight hug. 

They walk into the house that was practically his second home through high school, he notices small things that have changed. A couple of the pictures on the wall are different and the porch swing looks new. There’s a baby gate on the stairs and Stiles lips quirk, somebody had a kid.

“Stiles!” Mama Hale purrs as she rounds the kitchen table and sweeps Stiles into a hug. Stiles lets out a breath and wraps his arms around her back. After a stagnant moment, she rubs her hand across his back and squeezes tight before pulling away. 

“Let me get a good look at you mi amor.” Talia wipes her hands on the apron tied around her waist and grasps Stiles chin, tilting his head from side to side.

“Vaya! You’ve gotten so handsome!” Talia drops her hand and nods her head. 

She turns to someone in the kitchen, that Stiles can’t see, and rattles off a couple lines in spanish. Stiles barely remembers high school spanish and Cora didn’t speak it often enough for him to keep up with it. He thinks he picks up the word boyfriend from the number of times he’s heard Laura use the word. Besides that, the rest is lost on him. 

“Yo Sti man!” Speak of the devil. 

Stiles turns and looks from where Laura had come from upstairs, a small child perched on her hip. She gets through the baby gate one-handed and closes it behind her. She has small age lines on her face and gone are her all black outfits. She has on a soft yellow linen tee and blue skinny jeans. She smiles at him, all teeth, and presses a kiss to his cheek. 

“Hey Laura.” Stiles smiles at her and then drops his eyes to the kid. 

She doesn’t look any older than one and is dressed in soft pink bubble shorts and a white tank top. Her wispy blond hair is brushed away from her face and she has piercing blue eyes.

“Who is this cutie?” Stiles coos. 

He bends at his waist to become eye level with the little girl. She stares back at him for a moment before she gurgles and a high pitched laugh leaves her. She slaps her hand against Laura's shoulder and darts forward. Laura, not ready for the sudden movement, gasps, and fumbles. Stiles arms come up and catch the little girl. He hoists her up over his head and smiles up at her. Bringing her back down and settling her on his hip like Laura had her. 

“That, is Angie, my daughter.” Laura lets out a sigh, fond look taking over. Her hip pops out like she still had Angie as she watches the two. 

“She sure is fond of you.” Thomas calls out from where he’s helping Talia with dinner. 

“To~mas!” Stiles sings as he walks over to the man. Angie gurgles and claps her hands together. 

Tom swoops down at presses a kiss to his daughter's cheek before righting himself and nodding at Stiles. Laura and Thomas had dated most through their time in Highschool and then had gotten married Stiles junior year. Now that Stiles thinks about it, he feels like half the people he knows are now married and the thought makes him laugh. Stiles hands Angie over to Tom when she makes grabby hands for him and turns to see who Talia had been talking to. 

Stiles was unprepared to see Derek Hale, the reason behind is gay crisis sophomore year, standing in the kitchen looking at him with a fond smile. He had a large apron on that says kiss the chef that is definitely is dads and is holding a bowl of potato salad. A man should never look that good holding potato salad, like ever, Stiles decides. 

“Stiles.” A creepy voice sing-song as an arm curls around his shoulders and a kiss is pressed to his cheek. 

“Ugh, yuck.” Stiles cringes and slips out from Peter’s arm. He rubs his cheek on his shoulder, against the sleeve of his shirt and then sticks his tongue out at Peter. The later just looks back at him, ever creepy look locked in place. 

“Don’t you have a wife and children to terrorize?” Stiles asks with a pointed look and Peter snorts. 

“But I adore you so much more.” Peter goes in for a hug and Stiles takes a step back, his hands coming up to stop Peter. 

Derek intercepts his uncle, he jams the bowl of potato salad into Peter's stomach. Peter lets out a grunt and his hands come up to hold the bowl, eyes flicking up to Derek in annoyance.

“Be useful.” Derek grumbles out. Peter silently mocks him and slinks out the back door. 

“Hey Stiles.” Derek’s soft smile is back and Stiles does not swoon, really he doesn’t.

“Hey Derek.” Stiles answers and Derek turns back to now work on what is most likely pasta salad. 

Stiles had dated a little in DC, it was hard with his job but he’d managed it. He flip-flopped between men and woman. Leaning more towards guys then he did the other. The other party was always the one to end the relationship, usually because Stiles job was too demanding and he recognized that yes it was. But Stiles had loved his job more than he had loved anyone he’d dated in Washington. But when Derek glances over his shoulder and that small, soft smile is there just for Stiles, he thinks he wouldn’t mind leaving DC for Derek. Isn’t that a disconcerting thought? 

Cora drags him away from yet another crisis caused by one Derek Hale to make rounds. He’s hugged by every member of the Hale family and he’s surprised to see Erica and Boyd sitting outside among Shannon and Thea (Derek and Cora’s aunts). He sits with them and makes idle chit chat, catching up on things he’s missed, until Kevin (papa Hale) calls them for dinner. All the food is inside and spread out along the counter. It’s buffet grill out style, hamburgers, and hotdogs. He watches the Hales load up their plates, with twice the amount of food a normal human would eat and smirks. 

Stiles eats his food fast, having realized he’d missed lunch. Then offers to take Angie so that both Laura and Tom can eat. He walks around the back yard with her, talking to her like she could understand his words. He rattles off facts as he thinks of them and tells her a more pg story of his latest case. 

“You’re good with her.” Derek calls from behind him and Stiles only flinches in surprise. He turns and looks at Derek, Angie waving her drool covered fingers at him and he waves back. 

“We get kids that come in for field trips a lot and they always stick me with them.” Stiles shrugs the shoulder that Angie isn’t under. 

Derek tilts his head and looks at Stiles with a slightly confused look before his eyes widen and he mouths ‘oh’, nodding his head. They stare at each other in silence, except for Angie's baby gibberish. Stiles' shoulder is slowly soaking through with drool and Angie slaps a particular wet hand on his cheek and laughs. Stiles winces slightly and turns his head to blow raspberries against her tummy. Her laughs are practically screamed and Kevin wanders over to steal her. 

“I um, I was wondering if you’d like to grab lunch tomorrow?” Derek asks, his eyes trace up Stiles shoulder slowly to land on his face. 

“Yeah sure.” Stiles nods enthusiastically and he tucks on hand into his back pocket. 

Derek purses his lips and looks a little bitter. He opens his mouth just to close it before repeating this. Stiles brows raise and he’s about to tell Derek to use his words when the older finally stumbles through a sentence. 

“No-like a, a date. Do you want to go to lunch with me tomorrow as a date?” Derek pulls a face at the end like he hates himself and the entire english language. It’s cute and Stiles covers his mouth as to not laugh at the wolf's efforts. 

“As a date, yes.” Stiles nods and the sun catches on his skin making his moles stand out even more. 

Derek lets a breath out through his teeth and nods his head. They agree to meet at Sally's tomorrow at three so that they’ll beat the lunch rush. Stiles gives Derek his number and then they part ways, as simple as that. Derek goes to help his mom clean up from dinner and Stiles finds Cora sitting by the pool glaring at him. He skips across the yard to her, pulling a dramatic twist dance move at the end with jazz hands. She rolls her eyes and sneers. He rolls up the bottoms of his jeans and sits down next to her, swinging his legs in the water. 

“What's with the sour face, what’d I do?” Stiles leans into her and knocks his shoulder into hers. 

“You're going a date with my brother.” She shakes her head in a ‘duh’ notion and the smashes her leg into the water so that it creates a splash. 

“And?” 

“All my friends in middle school had a crush on Derek.” She mumbles out bitterly, biting her tongue at the end to keep from saying more. 

And suddenly Stiles understands. Cora had come into BHH as a freshman with a sour attitude and no friends. She wasn’t like the other two Hale’s who had been popular and friends with the entire school, even Derek. Cora growled and punched people who simply looked at her the wrong way. But for Cora who could most likely smell her friend's attraction to her older brother assumed the worst. 

“Even if the date goes well your my number one Cora. I wouldn’t put your brother before you.” Stiles scoots on the concrete and curls his arm around her shoulder. 

“You're my fav Hale anyway.” Stiles whispered and looked over his shoulder pretending to check if anyone had heard. 

“Don’t let Laura hear you.” Cora snorts and tucks her head into the space between his shoulder and his chin. 

“If you marry my brother my speech is gonna be ‘these fuckers are together because of me’.” Cora mimes a mic drop then touches her peace sign to her lips and blows it out. 

Stiles laughs and drops back so that his back is against the warm concrete. The sun is starting to set and warm cotton candy pinks and peach oranges mix with soft blues. Stiles missed the sunsets out here. DC was just blue to violet then black. Cora knew his love for the sky and would send him particularly good sunsets when she remembered.

“Canon ball!” Is all Stiles hears before a large wave splashes up and soaks his jeans. 

“Holy-” Stiles sits up fast and jerkily. His eyes land on little Angie who is in a yellow and pink one-piece and stops himself from dropping a curse word. 

“Ugh, Lincoln dude why would you forsake me like this.” Stiles pinches at the wet material that clings to him like a second skin. Lincoln (Cora’s uncle and Thea’s husband) snickers and dives under the water, away from the younger. 

“I have clothes you can change into.” Derek offers from behind the two. Stiles glances at Cora who nods her head and shrugs her shoulders. 

“That’d be great dude.” Stiles stands and teeters from side to side to keep his jeans from chafing his skin. 

Stiles follows Derek into the house, pausing to try and drain as much as the water from his jeans as he can. He follows Derek upstairs and stands outside the man's room while Derek grabs clothes. 

“You can change in here.” Derek offers lamely with a pink tint to his cheeks. He leaves the clothes on the bed and grabs the door to pull it close on his way out. 

Stiles strips down to his boxers and on closer inspection sees that even those are soaked. Looks like he’ll be going commando, he’ll just wash the clothes before he gives them back, he tells himself. He pulls the joggers on and ties the drawstring tight. There’s a towel on the floor by the corner of the bed and Stiles grabs it to dry off the part of his waist that was still wet. 

“Hey do you need-” Derek walked back into the room holding a folded up towel that was clean. His mouth was still hanging open forming silent words as he looked at Stiles. 

Stiles was very proud of his body thank you very much. He worked hard for it when he joined the academy. He’d kept up with it even after he was done and joined up with the FBI. His partner liked to tell Stiles he cared too much for looks but when you grow up with the friends he had you end up with a little bit of insecurity. All of those small fears rushed to the surface as Derek’s eyes traced over Stiles uncovered torso but they’re dashed away when a small rumble leaves Derek’s chest. But then Derek’s brows furrow and he’s suddenly in Stiles space.

“What are these?” Derek’s hand hovers over a scar that curls over Stiles' hip. 

It’s not particularly deep but there's a matching one on his other side, he’d grabbed a kid from a burning car right before it had blown. The metal had been warped and bent in a way that Stiles had to wedge himself in to get the kid out, the metal had sliced into his skin like melted butter. There’s a still pink scar on his shoulder (most of the reason Stiles was taking the summer off) a bullet he’d taken for his partner. It’d chipped his bone and he’d had to stay in the hospital for a couple days because of it. 

“They’re just scars.” Stiles’s hand comes up to cover the one of his hip and Derek stops his hand. 

His back is a little worse. There's a cluster of torn skin on the back of his shoulder from a glass window he’d fallen (been pushed) through. His other shoulder has uneven shades of pinkened skin from an infection he’d gotten from road rash. There are darkened lines, looking like veins, that run from the middle of his back up to the base of his neck. Branching out like they’re looking for something. The doctors had never seen a lichtenberg scar on someone who hadn’t been struck by lightning. He’d sure felt like he’d been struck when some lunatic kidnapped him and tortured him. It was some type of self-made amplified taser that he’d had connected to a small power plants direct source. 

“Are these from your work?” Derek asks as he traces the edge of the scar from the bullet, not touching the pink skin. 

Stiles hums and nods his head with lidded eyes. People always assumed that touching scarred skin hurt but really it was the opposite. A lot of the nerve endings are killed off so you really have to push in to feel it. So when Derek scrapes his thumbnail over the thinner of the scars on his hip, Stiles breath stutters and he almost moans at the feeling. 

Derek jerks back, tucking his hands behind his back and looking at something over Stiles' shoulder. The tips of his ears are red again but Stiles keeps his face relaxed to not spook him. 

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.” Derek apologizes and rocks back on his heels.

“Cora said you would probably head out after you changed.” Derek finally looks back at Stiles 

“Oh, yeah, I need to get home. Dad needs his truck.” Stiles sighs and his eyes drop to the floor. He grabs the shirt off the bed and pulls it on quickly. 

“We still on for tomorrow?” Stiles asks when he’s standing on the porch, shopping bag of wet clothes in hand and looking at Derek with hopeful eyes. 

Derek nods with a small smile. Confirming the time and place as Stiles steps down the porch stairs with his body facing to the side so he can still look at Derek. Derek takes a quick step outside, following the boy. 

“I can pick you up if you want.” He throws out remembering Stiles had borrowed his dad's truck. 

Stiles nods happily with a cheek-splitting smile. He can’t remember the last time he felt like a teenager all over again, not thinking about all the world had to stack on his shoulders. Derek made him happy, he only hoped he could make Derek feel the same. 

The date goes really fucking well in Stiles opinion. Derek orders two orders of curly fries as soon as the waitress gets to their table. Stiles kicks him under the table for being rude but he's over the fucking moon about Derek remembering he had an intense love affair for Sally's curly fries. Stiles lets Derek talk and just sits back and listens, really listens. Derek works at the local fire department and wow if Stiles wasn’t already falling in love all over again. He does a lot of saving kittens from trees and helping little old ladies load their groceries into their cars. The occasional grease or forest fire is the most action he sees. But it’s still good work and he likes what he does.

Stiles still talks the most though. Between both of them, he could have talked the whole date with useless facts and histories. But this time he actually has something to say. He tells Derek about DC, things he hasn’t told anyone else (the things he told his mom). They talk long after their plates are taken away and through three refills of their drinks. Eventually, the waitress just places the bill down on the table with a pointed look at Stiles. 

Derek pays like the gentleman he is and they walk down the street to get ice cream from Fancys. Stiles gets a triple chocolate scoop in a waffle cone with chocolate jimmies. Derek gets a one scoop strawberry in a waffle cone and it’s so painfully him that Stiles teeth hurt. They sit on a little wooden picnic table outside the parlor and talk some more. 

“Why did you ask me out?” Stiles asks head tilted almost ninety degrees to catch a line of melting ice cream. Jimmies catch on his nose and he tries to scoop them off with his tongue before giving in and swiping a napkin over his nose. 

“I don’t think I knew I liked you when we were in school.” Derek admits, his cone overturned in a little white styrofoam cup. 

“Your dad had mentioned you were back, how happy he was. Then I saw you last night and I just thought wow.” Derek offers with a slight frown. 

“Then I thought about high school and about all the time we could have saved and how much of an idiot I was.” Derek scoops another spoonful of ice cream and shoves it in his mouth. A little bead of pink catching on his lip and his tongue shoots out to catch it. 

“I think it’s a good thing we didn’t date in high school.” Stiles shrugs and mutters a curse under his breath as a line of cold drips over his fingers. Derek does a thing with his eyebrows that Stiles as interrupts as ‘why’. 

“I left for DC right after I graduated. I knew I was going a couple weeks before I graduated actually. We probably would have tried to make the whole long distance thing work and who knows maybe I would have visited more if I knew I had a dreamboat waiting for me at home. But after I graduated from the academy I kinda let work take over my life.” Stiles trails off and focuses on the ice cream. 

Their conversations switch back to lighter topics. Stiles talks about his mom some and Derek talks about his grandmother who had passed when he was in middle school. When they’re done eating their icecream Derek offers his hand and Stiles takes it with a chocolate-smeared smile. They end up walking towards the elementary school. They slide between the chicken wire fence and race towards the swings. Once Derek proves he can swing higher, and does a flip when he jumps off(“Show off!” “You're just jealous.”) Derek pushes Stiles for a little. They eventually drift over to the jungle gym ad Derek is impressed by Stiles ability to do the monkey bars. The sky is turning soft shades of strawberry ice cream and streaks of purple. Stiles sighs from where he’s sitting on the middle of the merry-go-round and looking at the sky. Derek is standing between his legs, his hands on Stiles' hips and resting his forehead against Stiles collarbone. 

“I think the sunsets here are one of the things I missed most.” Stiles sighs again, wistfully this time. Remembering times him and Scott would sneak onto Scoots roof to watch sunsets. 

“I’ll make sure to tell Cora that.” Derek's snorts blows warm air again Stiles' neck and he bends into it. 

“No don’t!” Stiles giggles and grabs at Derek’s shirt. Derek is smiling wide, bunny teeth on full display and Stiles hadn’t realized how close they were until that moment. 

He’s not sure who leans in first but in the next moment Derek’s lips are against his and to Stiles, it feels like coming home. It’s dry at first, just lips pressed to lips, testing the waters before sinking. Then the kiss tastes like sweet chocolate and sugary strawberries. It tastes like midnight drives and hundred colored sunsets. To Stiles, Derek is home, he knows that now and he might never let that go. 

When they pull back it’s only far enough to rest their foreheads together, breathing in the combined air of their kiss. Derek’s lips are pink and swollen just a bit and Stiles wants to take a picture to always remember it. Derek’s fingers are playing in the short hairs on the back of his neck. A shiver runs down Stiles spine when Derek's nail rakes over the shorn hair. 

“I should take you home.” Derek’s murmur is whispered over the apple of Stiles' cheek. Stiles leans his head up and presses a kiss to the tip of Derek’s nose. 

“We're not in high school anymore, both grown men.” Stiles lets his words trail off, left open for interpretation. Derek sighs and his hand tightens on the back of his neck. 

“As wonderful as that sounds, you live with your dad right now and I’m staying with my parents until the loft is done being remodeled.” Derek's’ hands drop to Stiles' hips and he squeezes before he pulls back, still standing between his legs. 

Derek drives him home, their hands tangled together on the center console. When they come to a red light, Derek brings their hands up and presses a kiss to Stiles' knuckles, his face illuminated red by the light as he looks at him. Derek walks him to the front door and kisses him good night like they really are back in high school. It’s a lazy kiss, one that Stiles hangs off and takes slow deeps breaths when Derek pulls away. 

Derek tells him good night and waits till Stiles is inside with the door locked before he drives away. Stiles is leaning against the door, his head tilted back and a smile on his face becoming a permanent fixture when he’s around Derek. He jumps when the living room light flickers on and his dad is sitting in the armchair in his bathrobe. Raised brows of judgment on full power. 

“I am a grown adult.” Stiles stands and crosses his arms over his chest. The brows stay raised. 

“A whopping twenty-three years old.” Stiles points at his dad who stands. 

“Did you have fun?” John asks as Stiles follows him into the kitchen. 

The smile he gets is words enough. Claudia used to say before she had passed, that she always thought Derek and their kid would end up together. Claudia and Talia watching a six-year-old Stiles chase after an eight-year-old Derek with wistful expressions. John and Kevin standing on the side not seeing what it was their wives saw. But when Stiles smiles like that, everything seems to make sense to John. 

The next day Stiles wakes up with a full heart and brimming with happiness. He takes his time with his shower, going the extra length and doing a facial treatment Lydia had recommended. He cooks himself a big breakfast; eggs and pancakes and some sausage, low volume music playing in the background while he cooks. Does the dishes while his food cools and scarfs it down like a starving child. 

He gets Cora to send him Derek’s work schedule so that he can surprise him. Stiles puts in an order to go with Sally’s and then walks the two blocks to the firehouse. Derek is already standing where Stiles can see him, dressed in his uniform with a clipboard in his hand. 

“How about a lunch break?” Stiles asks, raising the bag and shaking it. 

Derek rolls his bottom lip between his teeth to try and contain his smile. But all it does is widen Stiles’ when he sees Derek bunny teeth. Stiles steps up close to him and presses a quick kiss to his lips, it’s a little awkward because Derek is still biting his lip but at the same time possessing a level of domesticity. They eat on one of the couches in the common area of the firehouse. Derek tosses curly fries at Stiles who, surprisingly, catches all of them. Once their done eating Stiles wanders over to the red truck and does a circle around it. 

“Can we talk?” Derek gestures over past the trucks and Stiles nods. 

The two-step outside and into the grass just outside the firehouse. Stiles stands in front of Derek while the wolf looks to be having an internal war with himself.

“Stiles there's...there's something I need to tell you.” Derek fiddles with his fingers that lace and unlace in front of him. It’s adorable really, the light blush that tints the very tips of his ears. 

Derek had talked (more like been interrogated) by his mother last night. She’d worked out the events of the date from her son and had gushed over how adorable the two were. She had also given Derek permission to tell Stiles about what they were, he’d been family, been pack, long enough. Cora had snorted from where she was eavesdropping at the top of the stairs. (“So Derek can tell him after one date by I wasn’t allowed to tell him after four years of being my best friend.” “Cora don’t be like that.”) So while he’s looking at Stiles, trying to figure out the best way to go about telling him, the last thing he expects is for the boy to already know. 

“Is it that you and most of your family are werewolves?” Stiles' smile is closed lip and he presses his tongue to the roof of his mouth. 

Poor Derek looks like he’d just had whiplash. His jaw is slack and his brows are so close to joining his hairline. His arms had gone slack at his side as he stared dumbfounded at Stiles. He slowly closes his mouth and Stiles can almost see the gears turning in his head, trying to figure out how he knew. 

“You don’t move to DC stinking like the notorious Hale pack and not draw a couple eyes.” Stiles shrugs his shoulders and shoves his hands into his pockets, rocking back on his heels. 

“Are you…” Derek trails off and leaves the thought hanging. 

He’s not even sure he knows what he wants to ask. Are you mad at us(me) for not telling you? Are you okay? What happened in DC? But Derek can’t work his mouth to ask any of the questions. He just stares at Stiles. Boy is he a sight, too. In theory, Derek has looked at Stiles a lot since he’d been home but it feels like the first time that Derek’s eyes are wide open. 

DC did Stiles good. He looks looser and more confident. Derek remembers him hitting his growth spurt early and always hunching in on himself to look smaller. Where Derek bulked up on muscle in high school not only because of his genetic enhancement but also because of the sports he played, Stiles wasn’t as fortunate. But when Derek looks at him now he can see the tight muscles in the youngers arms and legs. He’s wearing a shirt, one that pulls tight over his broad shoulders and his chest. Stiles physique is toned and not overly macho for his body type, he looks like a swimmer, trim and tapered and controlled. His hair is longer, which Derek had noticed when he saw him for the first time again. Stiles' eyes sparkle in the sun, golden flecks catching in the light and turning to bronzed honey. Derek takes a deep breath in and Stiles calm and soothe settles into the wolfs bones. He’s happy too, mellowed and relaxed. When Derek had watched him leave for DC some five years ago the teen had been anxious and carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

Derek’s train of appreciation and ogling is cut short when Erica runs out from behind one of the trucks and screeches like a canary. She plows into Stiles and knocks him to the ground. Derek grimaces at the noise Stiles head makes against the ground and the woosh of air that's squeezed out of him.

“Erica, I saw you two days ago.” Stiles wheezes between trying to breathe and laughing. 

He winces and that’s when Derek frowns and pulls Erica off him. He helps Stiles up as Boyd comes out from the firehouse and throws his arm around Erica, nodding at Stiles. Stiles nods back at the larger man and rubs at the back of his head. 

“Ouch.” Stiles small laugh is breathed out and Derek frowns at Erica. 

“Sorry.” She shrugs a shoulder, not looking all that sorry before a sharp grin curls her lips. 

She looks between Stiles and Derek, the later standing closer to Stiles than friends would. She sucks her cheeks in, making a fish face before she hums and drags Boyd back into the firehouse. 

“Sorry for interrupting!” She calls over her shoulder. Hand in the air and waving without looking at them. 

“So you know…” Derek lets the words hang waiting for Stiles to elaborate. 

“Yeah, it was about a month in. You’d be surprised how many FBI agents are either in the know or are supernatural themselves. My team leader in the academy was some type of tree thing, I don’t know it was weird. But he held me back one day after class and like bowed and some shit and asked if I could relay his respects to your mom and I was so confused.” Stiles laughs and rubs a hand over his head, fingers getting caught in the strands. His eyes are side downcast like he’s reliving the moment. 

“Others would come up to me and ask about the Hale pack and for a little bit, I thought you guys were some weird cult? But things just started piecing together after that and my classmates didn’t hide her abilities after they thought I knew so. A night of redbull fueled research and I figured it out.” Stiles looks up at the sky, squinting against the sun, then scratches at the corner of his brow and digging the tip of his foot into the earth. 

“Did you guys think I would be appalled you weren’t human? That I’d go to the hunters? Is that why you guys never told me?” Stiles' arms wrap around himself and his shoulders hunch a fraction. 

“No, god no, that wasn’t it.” Derek speed walks over to Stiles and wraps his arms around the younger. Derek noses along the cord of Stiles' neck and takes a deep breath in. 

“That’s still gonna take some getting used to.” Stiles laugh is a little watery and his hand bunch in the shoulders of Derek's uniform shirt.

“Mom keeps the family secret real close to her chest. It takes a really long time before she’ll allow others to be brought in on it. Cora wanted to tell you junior year after you punched Todd Marks in the face for grabbing groping her.” Derek tenses a little at remembering it but Stiles' hand traces the triskele in the middle of his shoulder blades and Derek relaxes. 

“It’s just, she’s my mom and my alpha, whatever she says goes and Cora was pissed when she wasn’t allowed to tell you. She’s pissed now that I’m the one who got to tell you.” Derek’s laugh is a little choked up and he doesn’t know where these emotions are coming from. 

But Stiles warm tears on his shoulder make him adjust his hold on the other. Stiles' arms are looped under Dereks, so the wolf shifts so that he has one wrapped around the other's waists and the other goes to cradle his head. He threads his fingers into Stiles' hair and the later lets out a sigh and leans into the hold. Derek sniffles around a smile and shakes his head. 

“Is it too early to tell you I love you?” Derek's breath dampens the skin of Stiles' neck and Stiles’ fingers dig into Derek's back and he shakes his head. 

“No, I think I love you too.” Stiles words are soft just like what the words imply themselves. 

“Good.” Derek pulls back and presses a kiss to Stiles temple. 

Stiles' chin rests on Derek's chest and he looks up at the wolf. Tear stained face smiling and love clear in his eyes. Derek ducks down for a chaste kiss and then tangles his hands with Stiles. 

“Stupid boys in love.” Cora grumbles at them when they walk into the firehouse, she’s wedged between Erica and Boyd and is sporting some hard RBF. 

Stiles laughs and swings his and Derek arm between them. He glances over at the wolf and nods. Yeah, yeah they were stupid boys in love.


End file.
